Page 112 of Ruthless Vow
A pause. Her shoulders still shaking.
“I’m sorry I scared you.”
She cries harder. Her fist curls in the fabric over my chest, knuckles white, holding on like I might disappear.
Dio.I’d burn the world down before I let anyone make her cry like this again.
“I thought I lost you.” Her voice breaks on the last word.
“You didn’t.”
“I never told you.” Her words are muffled against my chest. “I never said it and you were dying and I thought I’d never get to say it.”
My heart kicks. Weak but insistent. Even wrecked, my body knows what she means before my mind catches up.
“Cassia.”
She looks up. Tears streaming. Face blotchy.
Bella.Fuck.
So goddamn beautiful it hurts worse than the poison.
“I’m here. Whatever you need to tell me. I’m here.”
She opens her mouth. Closes it. Shakes her head.
“Later. When you’re stronger.” She swallows. “Just stay alive. That’s all I need right now. Just stay alive.”
Cristo.Even thinking hurts.
The door opens. Footsteps. Gia.
I recognize her walk before I see her face. Quick, efficient, purpose in every step. She appears at the side of the bed. Checks the monitor. Her hands are steady but her jaw is tight. Her eyes are glassy.
“Welcome back.” The professional voice. Doctor mode. But it wavers at the edges.
“How bad?”
She hesitates.
“Bad. You were twenty minutes from cardiac arrest when I started treatment.” She adjusts the IV. “But you’re stubborn. Always have been.”
“What happened?”
Gia glances at Cassia. A look passes between them. A conversation I’m not part of.
“Later.” Firm. “You need to rest. Let your body recover. We’ll debrief when you’re stronger.”
Every muscle in my body screams to argue. To demand answers. The Don needs to know what threat put him in this bed, who did this, what’s been done about it.
Cazzo.I can’t even sit up.
But the exhaustion drags me under. My eyes are closing. I can’t fight it.
“Romano.”
The name surfaces through the fog.
